ISIS-Linked New Yorker Plotted Capitol Bombing, White House Attack
A New York woman arrested for plotting an ISIS-linked bombing at Albany's state Capitol had also discussed targeting the White House and Times Square's New Year's Eve celebrations.
Jessica Bowie, 35, was taken into custody Wednesday after the FBI disrupted her plan to detonate explosives at New York’s Capitol building on a day when maximum numbers of state senators would be present, as Zoe Hussain reports in New York Post. The alleged plot involved concealing a bomb inside a DoorDash food delivery bag.
Bowie, who converted to Islam five years ago and adopted the Islamic name Aisha Saif, spent approximately two weeks planning the attack with the assistance of FBI informants. Federal prosecutors say she had already arranged an escape route to Syria and contemplated returning to American soil to execute additional large-scale terror operations.
During an in-person meeting with two informants on August 5, Bowie indicated that if her attack on the state Capitol succeeded and she managed to escape, she could return in the future to carry out more attacks. Among the targets she identified was New Year’s Eve in Times Square, an event that draws up to one million visitors to New York City.
While Bowie focused on the state Capitol because it was the largest political building she knew of in the Albany area, she told informants she would have preferred targeting the White House with the President inside, though she acknowledged that would be an even harder job. Federal authorities say she suggested returning for that target in the future.
That same day, Bowie allegedly purchased bomb-making materials from a Home Depot in Rensselaer while wearing a burqa, according to photographic evidence.
Law enforcement had been monitoring Bowie for five weeks before her arrest and believe she was radicalized online, First Assistant US Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated at a press conference Thursday evening.
The upstate New York resident had told an informant she believed she could kill at least half of the 200 people inside the Albany Capitol building. Before federal agents arrested her, Bowie gave an informant 200 dollars to help a bombmaker fund the construction of explosives for future attacks, stating she wished she could fund a big operation.
Following her arrest, Bowie appeared to offer a partial confession during FBI questioning. She reportedly told agents there was no helping her, that they knew enough, and that she was going to prison for the rest of her life. She also stated that material support carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, adding that she had already researched it on Google and knew she was going to jail.
Last month, another radicalized upstate New York resident, 37-year-old Catherine Beth Washburn, was charged with allegedly supporting an Islamic terrorist organization after donating 30,000 dollars in cryptocurrency to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza.
Governor Kathy Hochul thanked the FBI and law enforcement for thwarting Bowie’s planned attack in a statement Thursday. The governor noted that earlier this year, amid rising political violence and threats against public officials, her administration took steps to strengthen security at the state Capitol and across state government. While there is no immediate threat at this time, Hochul said authorities will continue working closely with law enforcement partners to protect New Yorkers and keep communities safe.
With information from New York Post
